Fence-making machine



"6 Sheets-Shet 2.

` (No Modelg) P. MILES.

vFLNGE MAKING MACHINE.

ented sept. 18, 1888.

WIr/M8858;

Afro/MN5 (No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 3.

P. MILES'.

FENCE MAKING MACHINE.

No. 389,590. Patented Sept. 18, 1888.

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By G p E 4 Afro/MFM N. PETERS, phnmzumugnpm. wasmngmn. 0.a

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.-

' P. MILES.

EENGE MAKING MACHINE. No.y 389,590. Patented Sept. 18, 1888.

BY mad;

Arron/vnd? (No Model.) Y 'e sheets-sheet 5.

E. MILES. FENCE MAKING MACHINE. No. 389,590. Patented Sept. 18, 1888.

N4 PETERS. Phom-L'rthagmpher. Washingwn. D C

UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE.;

PUROHES MILES, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FENCE'IMAKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 389,590, datedSeptember 18, 1888.

Application filed May 12, 1888. Serial No. 273,676. (No model.)

T all whom it muy concern:

Be it known that I, PURoHEs MiLEs, a resident of the city of Brooklyn,Kings county, New York, have invented an Improved Fence- Making Machine,of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine for makingpicket-fences and analo` gous structures. One such fence is shown inPatent No. 381,942, of May l, 1888.

The invention consists in the details of improvement and thecombinations of parts that Will be more fully hereinafter set forth andclaimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which- Figure l is a vertical longitudinalsection of my improved machine on the plane of the line c c, Fig. 2.Fig. 2 isa horizontal section, enlarged, on the plane of the line k la,Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the machine, enlarged. Fig. 4 is adetail section, enlarged, on theplane of the line c c', Fig. 5. Fig. 5is an enlarged detail plan view on the plane of the line cl 02, Fig. 4.Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail cross-section on the plane of the line kIt', Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail section on the plane of theline c c, Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail View of part of thetreadle mechanism shown in Fig. l. Fig. 9 is an en` larged detailsectional view on the line k" 7c, Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a face view ofmyimproved picket attached to its supporting-wires. Fig. ll is a faceView of a modified form of picket. Fig. 12 is a face view of the lowerpart of the dies O P on the line 7c3 lo, Fig; 7. Fig. 13 is an enlargeddetail plan view of part of (he picket guide-rails, and Fig. 14 is anedge view thereof.

n the accompanying drawings, the letter A represents the frame of lnymachine,which is of suitable construction.

B is the main driving-shaft of the machine,

which carries a pulley, a, that is loose on said shaft, but which ismade rigid therewith by a suitable clutch mechanism. (Not shown.)

D is a reciprocating plunger that is guided in suitable bearings, b, inthe frame A,whieh plunger carries the cutting and stamping dies, ashereinafter shown. The plunger D connects by a rod, d, with aneccentric, e, on the main shaft B, whereby said plunger is reciprocated.

E is a rockshaft suitably journaled in bearings in the frame A. rllheshaft E carries a crank,f, that connects by a rod, g, with an eecentric,h,on the main shaft B, by which means the shaft E is rocked in itsbearings. The shaft E also carries pendent arms t', one v'of which armsconnects by a rod,j,with a lever, Z,that is loosely hung on ahorizontalshaft, m, that is journaled in suitable bearings,t t,on the bed F of theframe A. The shaft m carries a ratchet-wheel, n, 'that is engaged byapawl, o, carried by the lever l, whereby as theshaft E is rocked theshaft m will receive intermittent rotary motion. The shaft m carries oneor more rollers, p,that straddle or pass through a plate, q, that issupported by projections r on the bed F of the machine. Above the shaftm is a short shaft, s,that is suitably journaled in the bearings t, inwhich part the shaft m is journaled or is otherwise carried. The shaft scarries rollers u,that are above the rollers p, and that are adapted tocome in contact with said rollers p. The rollers p u are the feed-rollers for the sheet metal G. The shafts m s are geared together byspur-wheels o, (see Fig. 3,) whereby as the shaft m is turned by thelever Z the shaft s will also be turned, and thereby the feed-rollers pu. The sheet of metal G, from which the pickets AAZ are made, is passedinto the machine between the rollersp u, and is fed along by theserollers, as hereinafter shown. K

w is a tongue or plate that is placed above the plate q, and it iscarried at one end by a shaft, x,that is journaled in the supports orbearings t. The sheet of metal G passes between the plates q w, and theplate fw is kept pressed upon said sheet of metal G bya spring, y, thatsurrounds a guide-rod, e, which project-s upwardly from upon the plate wand through a cross bar, a2, on the supports or bearings t, said springy pressing at one end against the said cross-bar and at its opposite endagainst the plate w. The sheet metal G is guided on the plate q betweenupwardlyextending legdes blat the sides thereof. (See Fig. 2.)

The inner or free end of the plate q is in the form of a female die, H,(see Figs. 2 and 5,) by which the fingers or prongs on the ends-of theIOO pickets Az (shown in Figs. 10 and l1) are cut. The plate w issimilarly shaped above the die H, and acts as a stripper. The outeredge,d`l, of the die H (see Fig. 4) is constructed to act as a cutter,as presently shown. Above the female die H the plunger D carries a maledie, I, (see Fig. 4,) that enters said female die and acts inconjunction therewith to cut the lingers on the sheet metal G,that areto be on the ends ofthe iinished pickets.

On the plunger D, contiguous to the die I, is a male die or punch, J,one edge, c2, of which is adapted to pass close to the edge d2 of thedie H, and in conjunction therewith to cut off the projecting piece ofthe sheet metal G after the fingers have been cut,to thereby form thepicket A2, as hereinafter shown.

On the side of the die J opposite to thc edge cIl is a guard or plate,J2, that acts to guide the cut-off picket as said die is moved. Theunder side of this die J has projections f 2 at its ends, that areadapted to enter recesses y in a female die, L, that is placed beneaththe dieJ and on a lower level than the die H. (See Fig. 6.) The dieJalso has recesses f at the side of the projcetionsf,(see Fig. 4,) whilethe femaledie L has corresponding raised parts f a. As the die Jdescends it cuts oft' a picket from the metal sheet G, projecting fromthe die H, and carries it down onto the female die L, where theprojcetionsf2 on the die J press the central lingers of the picket down,while the projecting parts f s press the outer fingers up into thepositions clearly shown in Fig. 6. \Vithiu the die L are twovertically-movable plungersJt, that are pressed upward by springs 'i2 inthe die L. The upper edges of these plungers l1?l are normally above theupper surface of the die L. (See Fig. 6.) As the die J descends andpresses the picket A'l into the die L, said plunger-s will descendtherewith 5 but as said die J ascends the plungers h2 will follow it andraise the picket above the upper surface of the die L, so that saidpicket may be carried along to receive the wires, as hereinafter shown.

j'J are spring-plates that are placed at the ends of the die L, whichsprings have inwardlyextending shoulders Z2, that project in the path ofthe ends of the picket, and thereby limit its vertical movement by theplungers h2, so as to keep the picket after being carried down by thedie J below the level of the die H. Extending longitudinally from thespringsjz, and about on aline with the top of the plungers h2, when intheir upper position, are rails m2, that are secured at their ends nearthe springs j2 ou suitable supports carried by the bed-plate F. Theserails m2 are straight on their inner edges and taper on their outeredges toward their free end, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. These rails m2are straddled by or receive the lingers of the pickets after they havebeen struck up or upset by the dies J L and guide said pickets as theyare drawn along the mao chine to receive the wires, as in Fig. 2.

In order to carry the pickets away from the die L, hooks or fingers o2are pivotally carried on the inner end of a sliding rod, n2, that issuitably guided on the bed F. These hooks o2 are pivoted to n2, as atp2, and are pressed upon at one end by a spring, q2, that is carried bythe rod n2, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, so as to keep their hooked endsabove the rod n in position to engage the pickets.

r2 is a spring-plate that is carried by the rod n2, and that passesbetween the hooks oz and under the picket, so as to hold said picket inposition against the rails m. The hooks o2 are adapted to pass under thedie H or into recesses therein, (sec Fig. 6,) so as to be in properposition behind a picket, as in Fig. 4.

The outer end of the rod n'l is secured to a sliding head, M, that isguided on a projecting rail, N, carried by the frame A. This slidinghead M has pivotally secured to it at each side links s?, that arejointed at their free ends to the arms i, that are carried by therock-shaft E. By this means as the shaft E is rocked, the sliding headM, and thereby the sliding rod of, will be reciproeated. The sliding rodn? also carries feeding-hooks t2 between the hooks o2 and the slidinghead M. These hooks t2 are pressed upon at one end by the spring Q, soas to be in the path of a picket, A2, as seen in Fig. 1.

O is a female die that is carried bythe hedplate F and is situatedbetween the sliding head M and the feed hooks l?, the rod of passingthrough or beneath it. (See Figs. l and 7.) The feed-rod ufearries thepickets from the die H and places them one by one upon the die O, ashereinafter shown; but said pickets may he passed to the die O by othermeans, if desired.

P is a male die that is carried bythe plunger D above the die O.(SeeFig. l.) rlhese dies are adapted to press or stamp the picket A whenplaced between them, and are of the shape shown in Fig. 7, whereby thepicket, when pressed by them, is corrugated or grooved longitudinally.These dies also have one or more cross-grooves for receiving andpressing the metal plate about the wire to form a crossgroove in saidplate, (see Fig. 12,) and thereby to securely hold the picket on thewire.

The cross-grooves in the dies O P should be undulating-that is, shouldfollow the crosssurface of the longitudinallygrooved dies. By this meansthe picket or plate is given an undulating or waving cross-groove. Bythis means great strength and stii'l'ncss are given to a thin met-alpicket or plate; but instead of placing a groove in the die said die mayhave projections or other means to press up the metal of the picketcontiguous to the wire. The male die P carries on one side two cam-likeprojections, c, (see Fig. 12,) that are adapted to engage the Wires tobe secured to the pickets and to press said wires firmly against theends of the picket between the fingers (see Fig. 10) as said die Pdescends.

Upon the sliding head M is placed a block, wl, that has a longitudinalgroove adapted to llO IIS

receive a groovedpart of the picket. This block w2 carriesspring-pressed hooks x2, that are adapted to engage a picket when placedupon said block to assist in holding it thereon.

Q is a swinging tongue that is pivotally carried by the head M above theblock tu?, and it is adapted to bear at its free end upon the blockI2.02, or a picket thereon to hold said picket in position on the block.

Having now shown how the sheet metal G is fed into the machine, thefingers eut therein for the pickets, the picket cut from the sheet, andits fingers struck up, also the feed mechanism for carrying said picketsalong and the die for corrugating or crimping said pickets, I will nowshow how the wire is led into the machine and placed into position onthe pickets.

The wire B2 for the pickets is fed into the machine from each :sidethrough straighten ing-rolls R of any suitable construction. (See Fig.2.) The wires then pass on each side along a post or othercontact-piece, a", and against disks or rollers b, d", and e, saidrollers being so arranged as to guide the wire about parallel along theinclined edge of the rails m`l and in the plane of motion of the plateor picket A2; but the rollerse4 could be replaced by stationary or otherguides, if desired. From the rollers ei the wires pass in a straightline,or in the longitudinal axis of the machine thronghthe sliding headM. The rollers e* are placed justin advance of the free ends of theguide-rails 'm2, their inner edges being about on a line with the inneredge of said guide-rails. (See Fig. 2.)' As the pickets A2 are carriedalong by the feed-hooks 2 on the sliding rod n2, the ngers on saidpickets will embrace the rollers ef, and thereby the Wires that areguided by said rollers will be passed in between said lingers and laidagainst the body partof the picket ready to be pressed or woven togetherby the dies O P, as hereinafter shown. Thus the plate or picket isdeposited on the wire. The supporting rods or axles fl of the rollers e*are connected by a bar, g4, that passes over the wires B2 and over thesliding rod a2. This cross-bar g* carries rollers h", that are adaptedto bear upon the surface ot' the rollers e4, and to press down the,

fingers of the picket that pass over said rollers e4. are'rollerssimilar to h, that are journaled in supports on the bed-plate Rand thatbear on the under side of the rollers e* for the same purpose as therollers h. The sheet metal G, when fed into the machine and before itreaches the feed-rollers p u, is passed through a glxide-liead,S,that iscarried by the bed-plate F. In the guide-head S is placed a`verticallymovable plunger, j, that carries a knife,T, that, inconjunction with a knife, T2, ou the frame A, is adapted to out off thesheet metal G. The distance between the kni'e T and the edge d2 of thedie I-I is calculated -to be the width of acertain number of pickets,sothat when the outer end of a strip of sheet metal,

G,has about reached said knife the metal may be cut oft`,so that onlythe required quantity of metal will be passed by the feed-rollers to thedies. The knife T is reeiprocated as follows: To the plunger j* issecured a pendent rod, Z4, that is jointed to a treadle, m4,' carried bythe frame A. This treadle,and thereby the knife T, is elevated by aspring, or, secured to said treadle and to a suitable part of the frame.

In order that the machine may be stopped when the end of a metal sheet,G, has about reached the knife T the following device is provided:

U is an arm that is pivoted to the frame A, and that is adapted toengage the clutch of the pulley a. The shaft o4 of this arm U isprovided with a crank, p, that is connected by a rod, Q4, with atreadle, r", suitably supported. The treadle r* is held down,so as tothrow the arm U out of contact with the clutch on the pulley a, so thatsaid pulley will rotate the shaft B by means of a latch, s, that is hungon a guide, t2 through which the treadle r* passes. (See Fig. 9.) To thelatch s* is secured an arm, u, which, when being pressed upon by theoperator, releases the treadle r4, thereby permitting it to be raised bya spring, o4, secured to said treadle and to the frame A. As saidtreadle thus rises, the arm U will be thrown to disengage the clutch onthe pulley a. The latch s4 carries a stud or pin, wt, that passesthrough a slot in the end of a rod, m4, that passes upward, and issecured to a lever, y, that is pivoted in the guide-head S. A spiralspring, a, surrounding the rod m* and pressing against ashoulder thereonand against the frame A, tends to lower the same. Thedownwardly-projecting end of the lever y4 is adapted to pass downwardthrough an opening in the guide-head S, but is held in the up' wardposition by resting upon the sheet-metal plate G, from which the picketsare made. When the end of the sheet metal G passes from under the end ofthe lever if?, said lever will descend through the action of the springzi, thereby moving the latch s* out of contact with the treadle r4,whereby said treadle will be elevated and the clutchon the pulleyeengaged by the arm U, thereby automatically stopping the machine.

Having now described my improved fencemaking machine, l will show how itoperates in making fence. Y

Suppose the sheet-metal strip G to havebeen fed into the machine untilits end is flush with the edge d2 of the die H, the dies I, J, and P tobe in the partially-elevated position shown in Fig. 4, the die I to havecut the ngers at the edge of the metal sheet thereunder, and thefeed-hooks o2 to be in the position shown in Fig. 4. The machine is nowstarted by ro tating the shaft B. As said shaft rotates it will act toelevate the dies carried by the plunger D, at the same time actingthrough the rock-shaft E, the rod 7' and lever Z, shaft m, and rollers pa to feed the sheet metal from IOO the die H and under the die J, whileat the l saine time the rod n2 advances under the influence of the armsi on the shaft E, acting on the sliding head M. Thilo the plunger is atits highest point, and until it begins to deseend, the sheet metal isstill fed forward, the feeding-rod a being also fed forward. Vhen abouthalf the width of a picket has been fed from the edge dl of the die H,the plunger carrying the dies will begin to descend. As said plungerdescends the picket continues to be fed forward, as is also thefeeding-rod a2. By the time the sheet metal has been fed from the edgedi for the width of a picket, it will cease to be fed, the feeding-rodai also stopping its forward stroke, while the plunger carrying the dieswill descend and cut off the projecting piece of sheet metal G, the dieJ acting with the edge dZ for this purpose. As the die J acts to eut offthe metal, as above, the die I acts to punch out the fingers on the partof the sheet metal G next behind the picket just cut. The die J, stillcontinuing to descend after having cut off' the picket, carries thepicket j ust cutdown onto the die L, thereby depressing the plungers h2.As the die J carries the picket down onto the die L, as above, it actswith said die L to strike up the fingers of the picket, as before shown,so that they shall stand at an angle to the body part ofthe picket, asin Fig. 4. 1While the die J is in this its lowest position,the feedrodn2, with its head M, begins to return, and as said die J then rises andreleases the picket, leaving it on the die L and pluugers il?, the hookso2 on the rod ai will pass under said picket. As said die J continues torise, and when it reaches the partially-elevated position shown in Fig.4, the hooks oi will have passed behind said pickets, as shown in saidfigure. From this point as the plunger D again rises, as heretoforeshown, the feed-rod aL again advances, and by means of its hooks carriesthe picket along the rails m`l toward the dies O P, the feed-rollers p aat the same time again feeding forward the sheet metal. \Vhen thefeed-rod a? has reached its full forward stroke and begins to recedewhile the dies are making another picket, the hooks 0 will leave thepicket Azjnst moved forward on the rails mi, the lugs m on said railspreventing the picket returning. As said feed-rod n2 returns to takeanother picket from the die L, the hooks t2 on the feed-rod a willengage the picket just left by the hooks o2, while the hooks oZ engageanother picket on the die L, and as said feedrod a is again movedforward the hooks t'z will carry the picket that has been retained bythe lugs in along between the rollers c4, which rollers will lay thewires between the fingers on said latter picket. As the feed-rod acontinues to advance, the picket pushed by the hooks t2 will be laidupon the female die O, while the hooks 0I bring the other picket fromthe die L, and when the plunger again descends with its dies I J and eutout the fingers,

cut off the picket, and strike up the fingers of another picket, asheretofore shown, the die l? and the plunger will act on the picket justlaid on the lower die, O, to corrugate it, and at the same time by thecams o2 to press the wires against the inner ends of the cross-groovesin the dies O P, pressing the metal of the plate about the wircs,therebyforming cross-grooves in the plaie or fingers, the wires being themselves curved to follow the crosscorrugations of the picket. After thefirst picket has been thus corrugated and fastened upon the wires, saidpicket is drawn forward, say, by hand,the distance that thepickets willbeapart on the wires. XVhen the feed-rod u2 reaches its cxtreme inwardposition agaimthe block w" will pass beneath the picket just drawnforward, the tongue Q, and the hooks n,"l then engaging the picket uponthe block 102, thereby locking the picket to said block. As the feed-rodai next advances after another picket has been made, the tongue Q. withthe block wi and the hooks 0c?, will act lo draw forward the wires andpickets. I have now shown how the first picket when starting the machinehas been niadeandsecured t0 the wires and placed upon the block w2 toact to feed forward the wires. Each time the feeding rod n? now movesforward after a picket has been made and while the plunger is moving npand down it will draw a supply of wire through the straightening-rollslt by the tongue engaging and holding a picket on the block w2 inconjuncl tion with the hooks mi.

Each time a picket is cut off and struck up by the dies J L it will becarried away by the feed-rod if and passes along the rails m2 to receivethe wire between its fingers from the rollers 0*, while each time theplunger descends its dies will cut out the fingers, form a picket, andwhen upon the die O corrugatc it, groove it crosswise, and secure it tothe wires. As long as the machine is supplied with sheetmetal strips Gand wires it will conlinuously act to make a picket and place it uponthe wires at the desired distance apart. Vhen the end of the sheet-metalstrip G. has reached and passed from under the lever y, said lever willdescend and throw the clutch t-o stop the machine. To again start themachine, it is only necessary to depress the trcadlc r" to again permitthe clutch to act.

In Fig. 10 is shown a picket that has a wire at both ends; but saidpicket may have a single wire, as shown in Fig. 11, if desired. Bycutting the picket shown in Fig. l0 between the wires the picketattached to a single wire and shown in Fig. 11 may be made.

Although I have shown a strip of metal, G, of a width to produce theproper length of picket and that is cut into the proper widths for thepickets in the machine, it is evident that pieces of metal of the properlength and width may be placed directly on the die H by suitable means;also that strips of metal ofthe proper width for the pickets may beplaced For some styles of pickets it may not be nec- 4 Y essary tocorrugate them through their entire length; but they may haveotherdesired shapes. By making the dies O P of suitable form the shape of thefinished picket may be determined. I

In addition to making fences as herein shown, my improved machine may be-used for attaching sheet metal or other material to wires, rods, orstripsfor other purposes, and the term picket herein used is intended tocover such other pieces as may be used.

Having now described my invention, what I claimY isfv 1. Thefinger-cutting dies H I, combined with the dies J L, for cutting thepicket off a sheet and stamping up the fingers, and with means,substantially as described, for actuatingsaid dies and feeding saidsheet,as specified.

2. The finger-cutting dies H I and the dies J L, for cutting the picketoffasheet and stamping up the fingers, combined with means,substantially as described, for actuating the dies l, and for carryingthe pickets away from the die L to receive the wire, as specified.,

3. The dies H I and J L, for forming the picket A and striking up itsfingers, combined with means, substantially as described, for carryingthe picket away from said dies, and with means, substantially asdescribed, for placing the wire between the fingers of the picket, asspecified.

4. The dies H I and J L, for forming the picket and striking up itsfingers, and means, substantially as described, for carrying the picketaway from the dies, combined with means, substantially as described, forplacing the wire between the lingers of the picket and for closing thefingers on the wire, as specified.

5. The diesH IandJ L, for forminga picket, and means, substantially asdescribed, for carrying the picket away from the dies,combined withmeans, substantially as described, for placing a wire between thefingers of the picket, and with the dies O P, for corrugating the picketand for closing the fingers of the picket upon the wire, substantiallyas de scribed.

6. The dies J L, for stamping up the lingers on plate Acombined with thefeeding-rod a2, having hook o2, to engage said plate A2 and carry itfrom the die L, and with means, substantially as described, forreciprocating the feedingrod n2 and for guiding'the picket, asspecified.

7. The die H, having cutting-edge d2, die L,that is lower than the dieH, and the plungers h2, that are in the die L, combined with the die J,having cuttingedge e2, and the springs jl at the ends of the die L, andthat limit the upward movement of the picket on the die L, substantiallyas described.

8. The dies J L, plungers h2, and springs j2, combined with thefeeding-rod a2, having hook o2, and with the rails m2, for guiding thepicket from the die L, substantially asv described.

9. The feed-rollcrsp u, dies H I, and stripper w, combined with theldies J L, plungers h2, springs j?, rails m2, and feedingrod n2, havingmeans to engage' a picket, all arranged substantially as herein shownYand described.

10. The die L, plungers h2, springs y, and rails m2, having lugs m,combined with the feed-rod a2, having hooks o2 t2, for engaging andpushing pickets along said rails, and with means, substantially asdescribed. for reciprocating said feed-rod n2, as specified.

11. The dies J L, rails m2, and feed-rod n2, having means for feeding apicket, combined with the guides e4, arranged to guide the wires andpass them between thelingers of thepicket, substantially as described.

12. The plunger D, carrying dies I, J, and P, and means, substantiallyas described, for reciprocating said plunger, combined with the dies H LO, picket-feeder n2, having meansv to engage a picket, and guides e4,forpassing the wire between the fingers of the picket, substantially asdescribed.

13. rIhe feed-rod n, having picket-engaging hooks, rails m2, and thewire-guides e4, combined with the rollers liti", that are adapted tobear upon the guides e, to press the fingers of the picket as they passover said wire-guides, lsubstantially as described.

14. The picket-feeder n2, having means to engage a picket, andwire-guides e", that pass the wire between the fingers of the picket,combined with the dies O P, that corrugate the picket and close thefingers upon the wires, substantially as described.

15. The picket-feeder n2, having hooks to engage the picket, combinedwith the tongue Q, substantially as described, for engaging a finishedpicket to draw the wire or wires and with the shaft E andconnecting-rods, substantially as described, for reciprocating saidfeeder u2, substantially as specified.

16. The die O, that is adapted to receive a picket, combined with thedie P, having cam projections o, arranged to press the wires against theends of the picket as the die P descends, substantially as described.

17. The combination of the feed-rollers p u, dies H I,for cuttingfingers for the picket, dies G L,for cutting off the picket and stampingup its fingers, feeder n2, hooks on said feeder for carrying the picketsfrom the die L,wireguide 6*, for passing the wire between the fingers ofthe picket, dies O P,for corrugati ng the picket and securing it to thewires, and with means, substanti ally as described, for moving the diesI, J, and P, and for reciprocating the feeder a, substantially asdescribed.

1S. The picket-feeder n, having hooks to engage the picket, combinedwith the sliding head M, grooved block 102, and tongue Q, and with arock-shaft, E, connected with said head IOO IIO

and with the main shaft B, whereby as said shaft rotates the slidinghead M and the feeder ai will be reciprocated, substantially asdescribed.

19. The combination of the dies H l, for cutting fingers for the picket,dies J L,for cutting off the picket and for stamping up the fingers,feeder a, having means for carrying pickets from the die L, wire guidec, for passing the Wire between the fingers of the picket, dies O l),for corrugating the picket and securing it to the wires, and with means,substantially as described, for moving the dies I, J, and l and forreciprocating the feeder ai, substantially as described.

20. The dies O P, having longitudinal grooves for corrugating a metalplate, and cross-grooves, one in each die, for receiving and pressingthe metal plate about the Wire, substantially as described, and for thepurpose specified.

2l. The dies O l), having longitudinal grooves for corrugating a metalpicket, and cross-grooves, one in each die, of undulating line forreceiving and pressing the metal plate about the wire, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose specified.

22. rlhe combination,with dies,substantially as described, for fasteninga sheet-metal plate or picket to a continuous length of Wireof means,substantially as described, for engaging and thereby pushing or carryingsaid plate or picket away from said dies, said picket so carried awayfrom the dies drawing a supply of wire with it for other plates orpickets, substantially as described.

23. The combination of mechanism, substantially as described, forfeeding the fingered picket A2 along guides m'l with said guides, andwith rollers R b* c, for conducting the wire Bl in the plane of motionof the picket A gradually into place between the fingers of said picket,as specified.

24. The combination of means, substantially as described, for upsettingthe fingers of the fingered picket A2 and feeding it with theguide-rails m2, all arranged so that the upset fingers of the plate A2will straddle the rails m2, substantially and for the purpose described.

25. 'lheguide-railsn, havinginclined outer edges, and means,substantially as described, for first feeding the wires B2 substantiallyparallel to the inclined edges of the rails m, and afterwardsubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of thc machine, combinedwith means f'or feeding the plate A'L first along the guide -frails m2and afterward depositing it upon the wires and feeding it therewith,substantially as herein shown and described.

lURGI-IES MILES.

\Vitnesses:

T. F. BoUicNn, HARRY M. Tumi.

